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The Art of Aardman: The Makers of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and More
See the iconic, energetic art of Aardman Animations like never before! The Art of Aardman takes readers on an unforgettable, behind-the-scenes journey through the studio's archives. This collection features original character sketches and never-before-seen concept art, offering a unique look inside the studio that created Chicken Run , Morph , and, of course, Wallace & Gromit. Kicking things off with forewords from founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton, this celebration of all-things Aardman is a musthave for all animation fans.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2016
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694 people want to read
About the author
Peter Lord
39 books5 followersPeter Lord, CBE (born 4 November 1953) is an English animator, film producer, director and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring plasticine duo Wallace and Gromit. He also directed The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.
Lord is the executive producer of every Aardman work, including Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Flushed Away.
Lord is the executive producer of every Aardman work, including Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Flushed Away.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 30, 2021
This book contained artwork from all the stages of the creative process that the team at Aardman go through to create their movies and TV shows. There are some rare early drawings of some of their best-loved characters, such as Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, as well as mechanical drawings of some of the weird inventions, concept art for sets, models, and stills from the completed films.
There's not a lot to read: only forwards by the two founders of Aardman, a short paragraph at the start of each chapter, and captions. So if you're looking for more detail on the technical side of animation, this book probably isn't for you. However, as the title says, it's about the art, and I loved looking through these illustrations. Lots of pics for Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Flushed Away, Chicken Run, and Pirates; plus a couple of characters I hadn't heard about. A quick read, but lots of art to linger over.
There's not a lot to read: only forwards by the two founders of Aardman, a short paragraph at the start of each chapter, and captions. So if you're looking for more detail on the technical side of animation, this book probably isn't for you. However, as the title says, it's about the art, and I loved looking through these illustrations. Lots of pics for Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Flushed Away, Chicken Run, and Pirates; plus a couple of characters I hadn't heard about. A quick read, but lots of art to linger over.
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October 15, 2020Note: I read The Art of Aardman Shaun the Sheep published in 2020 instead of this one.
I went to the exhibition of Aardman, which was wonderful. It was great to look back on the artwork through the book.
I went to the exhibition of Aardman, which was wonderful. It was great to look back on the artwork through the book.
November 11, 2017
The Art of Aardman: The Makers of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and More
By David Sproxton and Peter Lord
2017
A LibraryThing Early Reviewers book.
This is an over-sized, hard back coffee table book filled with images of character studies and production stills. There is very little written information about the images or the processes or steps that went into them. In fact, there is a 4 page intro, and each chapter has a paragraph or two, and that is all the commentary. The art inside is nice, but without much context. Plus, some of the art is a little too small to pick out lots of detail.
I hate rating this so low, since I love Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, but I was disappointed in what the book failed to deliver.
2 1/2 stars.
By David Sproxton and Peter Lord
2017
A LibraryThing Early Reviewers book.
This is an over-sized, hard back coffee table book filled with images of character studies and production stills. There is very little written information about the images or the processes or steps that went into them. In fact, there is a 4 page intro, and each chapter has a paragraph or two, and that is all the commentary. The art inside is nice, but without much context. Plus, some of the art is a little too small to pick out lots of detail.
I hate rating this so low, since I love Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, but I was disappointed in what the book failed to deliver.
2 1/2 stars.
January 28, 2019
This is a lightweight overview of various pieces of art and design from the Aardman animation studio. Lots of cool and interesting tidbits ranging from initial rough sketches to technical illustrations for props and sets to production stills.
Overall it’s pretty skimpy, but you can get a sense of the care and craftsmanship that goes into each film and television show the team makes. Since the Aardman studio and warehouse burned down some years ago taking the entire 40-year archive with it, I don’t know if they’ll ever be able to do a full-sized proper coffee table book like those which have been produced for other studios, so things like this might be the best we ever get. Something is better than nothing.
Overall it’s pretty skimpy, but you can get a sense of the care and craftsmanship that goes into each film and television show the team makes. Since the Aardman studio and warehouse burned down some years ago taking the entire 40-year archive with it, I don’t know if they’ll ever be able to do a full-sized proper coffee table book like those which have been produced for other studios, so things like this might be the best we ever get. Something is better than nothing.
April 4, 2018
Personally, I prefer a good 50-50 text : pictures ratio for my art books. This was definitely not that (and I'm not blaming it for that). It's probably more like 15:85. We do get some texts, but they're your standard introductory-type; a couple of prefaces, acknowledgements at the very end and brief introductory paragraphs to each chapter. In other words, although the terms 'the art of' and 'making of' get muddled up pretty often for film books, this seems to lean more towards the former.
My favourite part about this book is that it goes over (I believe) all the creations they'd put out at that time (i.e Wallace & Gromit, Morph, Arthur Christmas, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, Flushed Away, The Pirates! Band of Misfits). Aardman didn't put out individual art books for many of these, so that's why I purchased this. However, like I'd mentioned earlier, I prefer to get a behind-the-scenes view on things -and this did not give me my fill. I do understand though, that that is not what this book was going for, which is why I can't fault it.
In a sense, we are given a sort of behind-the-scenes insight through all the sketches, which are interesting to peruse. I would've further enjoyed it if they'd taken it up a notch and included more varied material. They could have exploited the fact that they are predominantly a claymation studio (which is why I have great interest in them) and easily have included photographs or some sort of planning for the creation of the sculptures themselves. That is indeed art.
With Aardman, they seem to go for a realistic atmosphere and striving to have most things clay-made. I would've thoroughly enjoyed reading about that or seeing that. Indeed, a lot of my enjoyment from this book did come from being fascinated by the miniature sculptures they'd made as props for word-building. However, all the pictures were merely film stills and sketches. I will commend them for adding in raw sketches that had notes in them, those were interesting as well, especially when they called for detail on how to execute the scene in terms of videography. The early sketches were also nice to look at because you got to see the a little bit of the progression of some of the character designs. If you aren’t going to add a little bit of text explaining how you derive at it, perhaps some external content that sparked the inspiration for designs would’ve been just as great to look at.
The concept art and character studies in this are beautiful, with the different colours and methods of drawing. It was also great that they had a section on lighting, something easily overlooked. We get to read some things on lighting and it's quite interesting as it builds an awareness and an appreciation for the skill and makes you recognise it as an art form in itself. Unfortunately, I feel it was cut short and glossed over. I would've loved to read in detail about it. Perhaps, they were going for more of a show-don't-tell type of collection. In that case, what I've learnt from it were just a mere organised form of my thoughts and observations.
My favourite part about this book is that it goes over (I believe) all the creations they'd put out at that time (i.e Wallace & Gromit, Morph, Arthur Christmas, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, Flushed Away, The Pirates! Band of Misfits). Aardman didn't put out individual art books for many of these, so that's why I purchased this. However, like I'd mentioned earlier, I prefer to get a behind-the-scenes view on things -and this did not give me my fill. I do understand though, that that is not what this book was going for, which is why I can't fault it.
In a sense, we are given a sort of behind-the-scenes insight through all the sketches, which are interesting to peruse. I would've further enjoyed it if they'd taken it up a notch and included more varied material. They could have exploited the fact that they are predominantly a claymation studio (which is why I have great interest in them) and easily have included photographs or some sort of planning for the creation of the sculptures themselves. That is indeed art.
With Aardman, they seem to go for a realistic atmosphere and striving to have most things clay-made. I would've thoroughly enjoyed reading about that or seeing that. Indeed, a lot of my enjoyment from this book did come from being fascinated by the miniature sculptures they'd made as props for word-building. However, all the pictures were merely film stills and sketches. I will commend them for adding in raw sketches that had notes in them, those were interesting as well, especially when they called for detail on how to execute the scene in terms of videography. The early sketches were also nice to look at because you got to see the a little bit of the progression of some of the character designs. If you aren’t going to add a little bit of text explaining how you derive at it, perhaps some external content that sparked the inspiration for designs would’ve been just as great to look at.
The concept art and character studies in this are beautiful, with the different colours and methods of drawing. It was also great that they had a section on lighting, something easily overlooked. We get to read some things on lighting and it's quite interesting as it builds an awareness and an appreciation for the skill and makes you recognise it as an art form in itself. Unfortunately, I feel it was cut short and glossed over. I would've loved to read in detail about it. Perhaps, they were going for more of a show-don't-tell type of collection. In that case, what I've learnt from it were just a mere organised form of my thoughts and observations.
November 2, 2018
For anyone who is interested in animation and wants to have even more knowledge about the creative industry, this book is a must buy. It doesn't have loads of text but I would use this as a visual inspiration whenever I feel discouraged creatively. If you British you can definitely relate and understanding all the stunning details within their set designs.
April 1, 2018
I was anticipating more on the clay art and animation process, but the sketches were fairly interesting on their own. I think some of the characters featured here may not have made it to the States yet.
February 26, 2018
Goodreads win. Review to come.
This was pretty interesting to look at. My young daughter had fun looking at it with me. It filled with many different things. Definitely, a book you set out to flip through randomly. Not much to read just mainly look at.
This was pretty interesting to look at. My young daughter had fun looking at it with me. It filled with many different things. Definitely, a book you set out to flip through randomly. Not much to read just mainly look at.
March 15, 2018
I have a deep love and appreciation for all kinds of animation and animators. I've always been in awe of what they do especially groundbreaking artists like those of the Aardman Studio so I was thrilled when to receive a copy of this homage to those artists. As a huge fan of Aardman's work - Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep, and so much more - I looked forward to seeing and reading about what goes into making the studio's shorts and films.
The art which ranges from concept sketches to production stills is fascinating and beautiful. However, I longed for more information. Each segment had a short page of explanation or observation from one of the artists and the rest was simply pictures. Even simple captions explaining some of the pictures would have been much appreciated. The Art of Aardman: The Makers of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and More is lovely to look at but I wanted more substance.
The art which ranges from concept sketches to production stills is fascinating and beautiful. However, I longed for more information. Each segment had a short page of explanation or observation from one of the artists and the rest was simply pictures. Even simple captions explaining some of the pictures would have been much appreciated. The Art of Aardman: The Makers of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and More is lovely to look at but I wanted more substance.
October 29, 2017
I received this book for free as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.
I enjoy reading things written by people who are passionate about their work. The forewords by Peter Lord and David Sproxton make me want to be a character designer, artist, and lighting director, even though I have no real interest or talent in those fields. Their love of their craft comes through in these brief passages, and it is infectious.
The remainder of the book is sketches, character studies, and production stills of Aardman's many popular characters. I sat down with my five-year-old, a Shaun the Sheep fan, and flipped through the images here. He was curious about the characters he had not yet seen, such as from Aardman's pirate movie. He enjoyed looking at the book, but it also whetted his interest in other series and movies, which I suppose is the point of a book like this.
A fine coffee table book for fans of Aardman.
I enjoy reading things written by people who are passionate about their work. The forewords by Peter Lord and David Sproxton make me want to be a character designer, artist, and lighting director, even though I have no real interest or talent in those fields. Their love of their craft comes through in these brief passages, and it is infectious.
The remainder of the book is sketches, character studies, and production stills of Aardman's many popular characters. I sat down with my five-year-old, a Shaun the Sheep fan, and flipped through the images here. He was curious about the characters he had not yet seen, such as from Aardman's pirate movie. He enjoyed looking at the book, but it also whetted his interest in other series and movies, which I suppose is the point of a book like this.
A fine coffee table book for fans of Aardman.
February 7, 2018
"The Art of Aardman" by Aardman Animation Ltd is a concise guide to the creation of animation (or claymation in case of Aardman). It offers a fascinating pictorial history of the development of characters used in various Aardman productions, including "Creature Comforts", "Shaun the Sheep" and "Wallace and Gromit". My only complaint is that I wanted more - more details, more pictures, more everything. I bought this book after seeing the 40 year anniversary exhibitions at ACMI in Melbourne. It is a wonderful companion piece for the exhibition. One for the fans.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews